The Supreme Court of Kansas on Friday held that the state’s legislature violated the Kansas constitution when it underfunded K-12 public education during the 2009 through 2012 school years. The court found that 2009 reductions in funding for public education impeded the school districts’ ability to “maintain, develop and operate local public schools,” as required [...]
Human Rights Watch (HRW) called on the international community Friday to provide assistance to Libya’s failing justice system. HRW expressed concern over the mass detention of individuals on what they called an arbitrary basis. The call for assistance asked for trained personnel to help end the mass incarcerations as well as for help training additional [...]
The Florida Supreme Court ruled unanimously Thursday that Tampa Immigrant Jose Godinez-Samperio, in the country illegally, may not be licensed to practice law in the state. Godinez-Samperio is a 26-year-old man who arrived to the US at age 9 and grew up in the Tampa area despite the expiration of his tourist visas. Godinez-Samperio attended [...]
The International Criminal Court (ICC) on Friday found Congolese militia leader Germain Katanga guilty of four counts of war crimes and one count of crime against humanity. The crimes were committed during an attack on a village in a diamond-rich region of Congo in 2003, in which approximately 200 civilians were killed and some sexually [...]
A Russian court in Moscow on Friday fined opposition leader Alexei Navalny 10,000 rubles (USD $275) for participation in an unsanctioned public gathering. Navanly was charged after chanting anti-police statements outside of the courthouse last week. In February a Moscow court ordered Navalny on house arrest during an investigation of embezzlement charges. His house arrest [...]
Twenty-seven member states of the United Nations (UN) released a joint statement expressing concern about the escalating violence in Egypt. The statement stresses the UN’s concern for Egypt’s restrictions on the freedom to peaceably assembly, expression and association. The declaration states that the lethal force by security officials against demonstrators is highly disproportionate and disregards [...]
On Thursday the Alabama House of Representatives approved a bill that would require information related to suppliers of drugs used in lethal injections to be kept confidential, citing current difficulties obtaining the drugs. The bill is being pushed by the Alabama Department of Corrections , and passed the House by a vote of 77-19. Supporters [...]
Human Rights Watch (HRW) called on Malawi to put an end to the practice of child and forced marriage in a report released on Thursday. The report was compiled based on interviews with 80 girls and women in six districts in southern and central Malawi. The report details how child marriage exposes girls to domestic [...]
The Virginia House of Delegates on Thursday unanimously passed a bill to remove the state code’s ban on oral and anal sex, a decade after it was invalidated by a US Supreme Court decision in Lawrence v. Texas . The new legislation limits the definition of “crimes against nature” to only bestiality and incest. Sodomy [...]
A Malaysian court on Friday overturned the High Court’s acquittal of Anwar Ibrahim , sentencing the opposition leader to five years in prison for sodomizing a male aide in 2008. This conviction makes Anwar unable to run for chief minister of Selangor in next month’s election, where he was expected to win. Anwar has consistently [...]
